Operations Systems of Container Terminals: A Compendious Overview

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Chapter 2Operations Systems of Container Terminals:A Compendious Overview

Birgitt Brinkmann

AbstractThis section contains an overview of the different functional areas of a marine con-tainer terminal and a summary of the main types of container handling systems.The main advantages and disadvantages of each type of handling system are alsosummarized without focusing on technical details.

2.1 Functional Areas of Terminal Operations

As every other terminal, a container terminal is a complex system that functions onlyefciently when its layout is designed in such a way that the loading and dischargingprocess of vessels runs smoothly. A container terminal consists of at least threeoperational areas:

1. operational area between quay wall and container yard (apron or the area justbehind the berth front)

2. container yard (terminal storage = stacking area)3. terminal area of landside operations (including the gate, parking, ofce build-

ings, customs facilities, container freight station with an area for stufng andstripping, empty container storage, container maintenance and repair area etc.)

The importance of the container freight station has decreased within the past decadesas more and more containers are sent directly from the originator to the addresseewithout being transhipped. Nevertheless, a lot of terminals are provided with a con-tainer freight station for storage purposes. Figure 2.1 shows the schematic layout of

Birgitt BrinkmannInstitute for Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Infrastructure Development - LeuphanaUniversity L¨uneburgHerbert-Meyer-Straße 7, 29556 Suderburg, Germanyemail: [email protected]

25J. W. Böse (ed.) , Handbook of Terminal Planning,



26 Birgitt Brinkmann

a container terminal with the different operational areas. The transport between theareas is carried out using handling equipment for horizontal container transport.The layout and choice of equipment for the above mentioned areas and their inter-faces depend on, amongst others, the

• number of containers to be handled,• available area and• mode of hinterland transport.

The combination of terminal equipment used• at the vessel,• for transport tasks between quay and stacking yard (or vice versa),• for container stacking,• for transport from stacking yard to and from the landside operation area and• for landside operation itself

is called operations system.

Fig. 2.1 General layout of a container terminal (see Brinkmann (2005))

Independent from the selected terminal operations system, specic processes areperformed on the different areas.



2 Operations Systems of Container Terminals 27

On the apron area the ship-to-shore operations (loading and discharging of vessels)are carried out. In the beginning of the container shipping the cargo handling onthis area was mainly carried out with on-board lifting gear of the vessels or a reg-ular quay crane. Nowadays this type of handling is only used on terminals with a

comparatively low container throughput. On medium and large sized terminals theship-to-shore handling of containers is usually carried out with gantry cranes spe-cialized in this purpose.

Container vessels are the only ships that can be loaded and discharged at thesame time. The S hip- T o-S hore gantry crane (so-called “STS crane”) discharges acontainer moving landwards and on its way back loads a container on to the vessel.This handling procedure requires good planning of the terminal equipment for thecontainer delivery as well as for the container stacking in the yard and on the vessel.Landwards, the full container yard borders on the apron, used for

• storing inbound (discharged from vessels) and outbound (to be loaded on ves-sels) container as well as for

• storing export containers delivered by train or truck, and forwarding importcontainer to these modes of transport.

These operations usually do not happen at the same time. Therefore, the containeryard is an intermediate storage facility, in which the containers remain from a cou-ple of hours to some weeks (container dwell time = containers in the same positionor area during this period of time, e.g. within the terminal area). There are different

possibilities for the layout of this intermediate storage area (= stacking yard). If thestacking area is a compact, low ground area consuming stack without spacing, it iscalled block stack (see Figure 2.2; HHLA (2010)). In this case, yard gantry cranesare used for the stacking of containers being delivered by terminal equipment of hor-izontal transport. An alternative is the linear stack (see Figure 2.3) where the con-tainers are stacked by S traddle C arriers (SC). This type of stacking requires spacingbetween the container rows and relatively wide terminal roads. Export and importcontainers are segregated within the yard area), piled up to 4 containers high and(relating to import boxes) pre-sorted for the different hinterland transport modes.

The third rarely applied stacking alternative is the high-bay racking, used for termi-nals with high throughput requirements but very small available area. An exampleis Hong Kong with high-bay racks up to 12 container tiers.

The conguration of the area for landside operation, as third main functional areaof container terminals, is determined by the hinterland transport modes or relatedinterfaces, respectively. In case of predominant truck operations, this functional areais often integrated in the yard area. The trucks are loaded and unloaded on dedicatedspaces at the end of the stacking yard or in the middle of the yard, e.g. by SCs oryard cranes. In case of railway transport the loading/unloading should take placeoutside the stacking area to avoid the crossing of rail tracks by the yard equipment.This would increase the terminal efciency and performance as well as the safety onthe terminal. The loading/unloading is carried out directly by the yard equipment orby gantry cranes being combined with appropriate vehicles for horizontal transportbetween railway station and terminal yard.




Fig. 2.2 Block stacking

Fig. 2.3 Linear stacking

As only a traveling vessel makes money, the berthing time at the terminal quay wall

should be as short as possible. First and foremost this can be achieved by a fastloading / discharging process of the vessel. To ensure this, the operational areashave to be tuned to each other.

The length of a container terminal depends on the planned number of berths andthe length of the design vessel as well as local restrictions ( e.g. given geographicconditions). The (minimum) depth of the terminal depends on the operations system.The available area is a crucial factor for its selection. As a guide value, 600m–800mshould be appropriate for new constructions of terminals.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2.2.1 provides a brief

overview of common equipment types and meaningful factors for equipment choice.In Section 2.2.2 to 2.2.5, various operations systems are introduced regarding theiruse of handling equipment for container stacking and transport in the operationalterminal areas mentioned above. Additionally, the main operational and economic




advantages and disadvantages are outlined system-related. Lastly, Section 2.3 con-cludes the paper with an overview of functional system capabilities.

2.2 Operations Systems

2.2.1 Determinants of Operations System Choice

To design and operate a successful container terminal is a challenging task with theobjective to decrease the cost of operation while at the same time service quality andeffectiveness of operation have to be increased. The new large container terminalsbeing under construction, the ones already being designed and the future ones areambitious projects (due to complexity and given economic/capacity requirements)and will challenge the terminal operators to further increase the efciency and/orperformance of loading/discharging processes. To achieve this, not only larger andfaster STS cranes are required but also logistic capabilities of horizontal transportequipment to cope with augmentation of STS cranes. Therefore, the right selectionof the operations system is a key factor to a successful terminal. The decision for anoperations system depends, inter alia, on the following factors:

• size of vessels•

trafc forecast (annual container volume)• container volume in peak hours• available land area• required stacking density of the containers per ha (conguration of stacking

yard)• cost structure (wages, nancial facilities, dues)• aimed STS productivity ( i.e. TEU / crane / hour)• geographic restrictions of the terminal area• contingent restrictions due to soil conditions• environmental impacts like wind, ice, noise, light and snow• mean dwell time of containers in the stacking yard• TEU factor ( e.g. 1,6 implies 60% of all containers are 40 ft long)• percentage of reefer containers• percentage of empty containers (short: MTs)• percentage of LCL ( Less than C ontainer Load)• the connections to the hinterland transport modes road, railway and inland wa-

terways

The number of determinants shows that there is no “general ideal” container ter-

minal. The usual equipment to full the tasks in the three mentioned functionalterminal areas (see Section 2.1) are:

• quay cranes at the vessel:

– STS crane




– conventional quay crane– mobile harbor crane

• for container transfer (horizontal transport):

– SC (max. stacking capability: 1-over-3-high)– reachstacker– terminal tractor with trailer (so-called T ractor- T railer U nit (TTU))– multi-trailer (terminal tractors with several trailers)– empty/loaded container handler– Shuttle C arrier (ShC stacking capability: 1-over-1-high)– Automated Guided V ehicles (AGV)– automated SC (max. stacking capability: 1-over-2-high)

• for container transport and stacking within the yard:

– SC– Rubber- T yred Gantry crane (RTG crane)– Rail- M ounted Gantry crane (RMG crane)– container handler (like reachstacker or top lifter)– Over H ead Bridge crane (OHB crane)

• for the landside operation:

– SC– RTG crane

– RMG crane– reachstacker– TTU

• at the inland navigation vessel:

– STS crane– conventional quay crane– mobile harbor crane

Considering the fact that the above-mentioned equipment is available in different

sizes and special designs ( e.g. one or two trolley STS cranes, SCs for 3- or 4-high stacking ( i.e. 1-over-2- or 1-over-3-high), yard cranes of different heights andwidths, reachstackers with different lifting heights and loading capacities) and thepossibilities of various combinations, it is obvious that special care has to be paidto the analysis and choice of the “optimal” operations system comprising the quali-tative (kind of equipment) and quantitative (number of equipment) dimensioning of system resources.

Notwithstanding the mentioned variety there are some commonly used systemsbeing explained below with their main pros and cons listed briey. Representing

possible types of quay cranes only the most efcient one, the STS crane, is beingconsidered. Due to operational and economic restrictions not all types of horizontaland vertical transport equipment can (or should) be combined.

Because of the diversities of equipment types, the choice of the operations systemresults in considerable different terminal layouts.




2.2.2 Reachstacker System with Tractor-Trailer Units

The STS crane drops down containers on TTU that transport the containers to thestacking area (see Pirhonen (Chapter 3 of this Handbook)) where the boxes arestacked by reachstackers (see Figure 2.4) or forklift trucks tted with appropriatespreader frames for container top or side lifting. Traditionally heavy fork lifts wereused but nowadays most operators use reachstackers because of their higher opera-tional productivity and exibility enabling a higher stacking density as well.

• due to their versatility in operation, reachstackers are often the best choice forsmall and medium size container terminals and for multi-purpose terminals.As they are easy to handle reachstackers in particular are a good choice forcountries with little trained labor.

• reachstackers can be used for stacking in the yard, loading and unloading of TTUs, road trucks and rail cars on rst rail.

• TTUs are used for the transport of the containers between the vessel and thecontainer yard.

• reachstackers can also be used for short distance transportation, so that no ad-ditional equipment is required on small terminals.

Fig. 2.4 Stacking example of operations system with reachstackers and TTUs (see Kalmar Indus-tries (2010))

• including landside operation, an estimate of 3–4 reachstackers and 4–5 TTUsare required per STS crane (rough rule of thumb of operations practitionersnoticing that e.g. the specic number of TTUs in particular depends on thedistance between the berth and the stacking area of the respective applicationcase).




• a storage capacity of approx. 350 TEU per hectare for 3-high stacking and 500TEU per hectare for 4-high stacking are common gures for this type of yardequipment. The maximum stacking height is 5, container blocks can be kept4-deep due to second row access. Among others, another stacking possibility is

a depth of 8 when stacked in pyramid shape. To avoid too much reshufing of the stack, the stacking is often limited to 2 deep and 3–4-high.

• in case of relocation of capacities reachstackers could be easily transported toanother terminal or used for other cargo handling. Because of their easy trans-portation between terminals (or terminal areas) reachstackers could be used tocover temporary peak requirements.

System advantages

• low investment and capital costs as reachstackers and TTUs cause relatively low

purchase expenses per equipment unit• low operating costs of equipment in comparison to other operations system al-

ternatives (prerequisite: low-wage country)

System disadvantages

• container transports between STS crane and yard area require two handover pro-cedures due to the use of different terminal equipment for transport and stackingtasks

• comparatively high manning requirements due to the large number of vehiclesand low level of automation, and therefore the impact of labor or operating costrespectively is considerable in high-wage countries

• the TTUs can not pick up or set down the containers self-acting• disturbance of operation by trucks being loaded/unloaded in the stacking area

2.2.3 Straddle Carrier System

The STS crane places the containers onto the apron from where the SCs transportthem to the stacking yard (see Figure 2.5 and Figure 2.6) and stack the containers.The SCs are independent from any other equipment and are able to perform allthe different handling operations: transport, stacking and the loading/unloading of trucks and rail cars (see Figure 2.6b).

• SC systems are often the optimal system for medium and large size terminals,when high exibility in the yard and accessibility of the boxes are required.Within this system it is easy to alter the layout of the terminal.

• due to the required trafc lanes the system allows only a medium stacking den-sity. Based on practical experience a storage capacity of approx. 500 TEU perhectare stacking 2-high (3-high SC) and 750 TEU per hectare stacking 3-high(4-high SC) can be achieved. The maximum stacking height is 4-high.




• including landside operation, an estimate of 4–5 SCs are required per STScrane – without considering specic conditions.

• on some terminals the system is supported by container handlers stacking MTboxes and/or RMGs for container handling in the rail yard.

Fig. 2.5 Pure SC system

System advantages

• SC are able to cover all kinds of horizontal and vertical transports being nec-essary to perform container moves from the landside terminal interfaces (in-cluding truck handling and rail operation) via the container yard to handoverpositions below the STS cranes at quayside (and vice versa). Thus, pure SC op-erations systems (not considering the STS cranes) are viable and combinationswith other (compatible) equipment types are facultative only or are induced byparticular logistics or economical requirements, respectively

• the containers can be dropped on the ground so that no (or only short) waitingtimes for handling equipment occur. This kind of container handover enablesSTS cranes to operate with a high productivity while using a comparatively lownumber of SCs per crane.

•

high number of concurrent container movements• the breakdown of one SC has a comparatively low impact on the total handling

process• compared to the systems with TTUs the labor costs are lower due to the smaller

number of vehicles• no disturbance of the operation by trucks because these are loaded/unloaded

outside the stacking yard• the system is exible to changes based on operational requirements and terminal

layouts can be simply altered as SCs can be easily moved within the terminalsince no pre-set routes or tracks are needed


• high investment and capital costs for the SCs




• high maintenance and energy costs• high labor costs compared to (semi-)automated transport and stacking systems

(see Section 2.2.5)• high area requirement in comparison to yard cranes as a result of a lower stack-

ing height and a large proportion of trafc (within the yard area)• when traveling distances are far, SCs are not the rst choice as they are consid-

erably slower compared to TTUs and more costly

Fig. 2.6 SC operation: a) Container transport and stacking; b) Loading / unloading of rail cars

2.2.4 Rubber-Tyred Gantry Crane System with Tractor-TrailerUnits

The STS gantry crane places the container on a TTU unit that transports the con-tainer to the storage area where the RTG crane stacks the containers in long blocks(see Figure 2.7). A RTG can be used for TTUs and road trucks as well. The sizeand structure of the RTG crane is determined according to the requirements of theterminal operator.

Very heavy concrete paving is required in the wheel tracking areas to supportthe heavy wheel loads. Besides, there are concrete/steel pads necessary for turningpurposes of the cranes to travel to adjacent storage areas (or blocks) to performstacking operations. RTGs are generally smaller and lighter than RMGs (see Section2.2.5). Therefore, they are sometimes to be favored for terminals built on reclaimed

marshland, where reinforced piling would be too costly.• RTG cranes are often used on large and very large terminals. The system has a

very high stacking density because of the high stacking capability and the block




• disturbance of TTU operations by trucks being also loaded/unloaded in thestacking area (mixed trafc)

2.2.5 Rail-Mounted Gantry Crane System

2.2.5.1 Rail-Mounted Gantry Crane System with Tractor-Trailer Units(blocks parallel to quay)

The system generally complies with the RTG system, but the cranes are mounted onxed rail tracks with a cantilever outside the portal of cranes (see Figure 2.8).

Fig. 2.8 RMG cranes with TTUs

System advantages (compared to RTGs)

• RMGs generally stack higher and span wider, with up to 1-over-7-high and 12containers wide

• based on practical experience stacking density of the yard is higher with RMGcranes and can exceed 1,000 TEU per hectare (stacking 4-high)

• more durable and reliable than RTGs• higher availability with moderate maintenance and repair costs• Medium operating costs because of relatively low maintenance costs• Easier to automate than RTGs

System disadvantages (compared to RTGs)

• more expensive to install because of required tracks• high disturbance of terminal operation in case of crane failure• high investment and capital costs due to equipment and construction costs (rail

tracks) in comparison to other types of block stacking systems• rigid system in operation because of rail mountings and more difcult to change

the layout in the yard




2.2.5.2 Rail-Mounted Gantry Crane System with Automated Guided Vehiclesor Shuttle Carriers (blocks perpendicular to quay)

The horizontal transport of the containers is performed with AGVs (see Rijsenbrij

and Wieschemann (Chapter 4 of this Handbook)) or ShCs (see Pirhonen (Chapter3 of this Handbook)). For safety and operational reasons, the automation requires astrict separation between the AGV area and the area with manned equipment (seeFigure 2.9).

Hence, the handover positions for trucks are located at the top-end of the stackingblocks. The stacking of the containers is usually carried out by automated RMGs.The ShC is designed primarily to convey containers between the ship’s side (dueto stacking capability of only 1-over-1-high machines are considerably smaller thanconventional SC and therefore more manoeuvrable) and container stacks served by

RMG cranes. As it is able to stack containers two high it can also be used for loadingand unloading road trucks and rail cars. The shuttle carrier is an alternative forterminals that aim at more efciency to handle the container transport between thestacks and the quay cranes, and still maintain high density stacking by RTG or RMGyard cranes.

System advantages

• very low labor costs because of automation• high system availability• very high productivity of horizontal transport


• very high investment and capital costs• very well trained labor required• rigid system

Fig. 2.9 RMG cranes with AGVs




2.3 Summary of Main Data

The data summarized in Table 2.1 is based on practical experience and averagedfrom a multitude of terminals operated in different countries around the world anddoes not include allowances for maintenance and repair.The data should be used only as rule of thumb for plausibility checks and mustnot be used for planning a container terminal ( e.g. required area and number of handling equipment) as each terminal is different and the boundary conditions likearea layout, operational requirements, legal restrictions etc. vary from location tolocation. Therefore, the design of each container terminal requires an individualsolution.

Table 2.1 Main data of operations systemsOperations System Required equipment

per Quay Crane (2+ 3)Stacking Tiers[1-over- n-high]

Yard Capacity[TEU / ha]

Reachstacker & TTU 3–4 Reachstackers 3 350+ 4–5 TTUs

4 5005 950–1,000 4

Pure SC 4–5 2 5003 750

RTG & TTU 2–3 RTGs 4–5 5 1,0004–5 TTUs

RMG & TTU (blocks 2 RMGs 4–5 1,000 6 (or more) parallel to quay) 4–5 TTUs

RMG & ShC (blocks 2 RMGs 4–5 1,000 6 (or more) perpendicular to quay) 2–3 ShCs

RMG & AGV 5–6 4–5 1,000 6 (or more)

2 Generally, the number of equipment per STS crane depends on the distance between stacking yard and berth,

the productivity of the STS crane, the locations of the containers within the yard, the quality of stacking in regard toexport containers (sorting with respect to destination ports and weight classes), the interaction between vessel stowageplanning and yard planning.

3 The required number of equipment refers only to the horizontal transport between berth (STS cranes) and stackingyard and should be considered more differentiated, particularly with respect to RTGs and RMGs which in a lot of casesalso handle the delivered export containers as well as import containers to be loaded on road trucks and additionallycarry out reshufing of containers in the yard.

4 Only empty containers.

5 Max. 1-over-7-high (high costs for reshufing of containers which decreases the productivity and increases thenumber of required RTGs).

6 Independent from space requirements of horizontal transport equipment.




References

Brinkmann B (2005) Seeh afen – Planung und Entwurf. Springer, BerlinHHLA [Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG] (2010) Picture Gallery. http://

www.hhla.de/Bildergalerie.23.0.html?&L=1 , accessed Septem-ber 17, 2010

Kalmar Industries (ed) (2010) Kalmar Container Handling Systems – CompleteRange of Products and Knowhow. Online Publication: www.rrtobe.com/salesmaterial_store_pdf_low_res/CHS_KIOY0309E-17.pdf ,Tampere, 11 pp



http://www.springer.com/978-1-4419-8407-4

Operations Systems of Container Terminals: A Compendious Overview

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